Des Moines, IA – The women’s 1500 went largely according to form as 7 of the 8 women with a seasonal best time of sub-4:10 all moved on to Saturday’s 1500 final. The one casualty was Renee Tomlin (4:08.09 seasonal best) who missed advancing by .06.

Mary Cain comfortable in the back early on

Heat 1: The two Alberto Salazar coached athletes Treniere Moser and Mary Cain did not disappoint in this heat as they were a class above everyone else and went 1-2. The two started out in last on the first lap but at 700 Moser moved up into the third and she had the lead by 900 and would never relinquish it. Cain was never too far behind.

Quick Thought (QT) #1: We thought coming in the at that the US leader for 2013 Moser was going to make the team for Moscow and we are even more confident in that pick now.

QT #2: We also thought Cain had a real good shot and her performance tonight didn’t make us nervous at all. At Oxy, when she ran her 1500 pb, Cain lost to Katie Mackey. Tonight, she beat Mackey by more than 2 seconds. Cain continues to get better and better.

QT #3: Our video interview with Cain and Moser is worth a watch as it’s interesting to see the dynamic between the veteran and high school runner. Cain takes the opportunity to joke around with the interview and is clearly enjoying herself.

Splits: 71.3, 2:23.2, 3:26.5

Place

Ht Pl

Athlete

Time

1

1

Treniere MoserNike

4:11.20

Q

2

2

Mary CainUnattached

4:11.48

Q

8

3

Katherine MackeyBrooks

4:13.90

Q

9

4

Cory McGeeUniversity of Florida

4:14.03

q

13

5

Renee TomlinNike

4:15.60

15

6

Carly HamiltonGeorgia

4:16.71

16

7

Amanda WinslowFlorida State

4:17.70

18

8

Emily LipariVillanova

4:19.73

19

9

Lauren PenneySyracuse University

4:20.15

20

10

Nicole SchappertBrooks / New York Athletic Clu

4:20.20

24

11

Laura RoxbergMissouri

4:21.65

26

12

Dana MeckeUnattached

4:21.78

27

13

Lianne FarberNorth Carolina

4:22.45

28

14

Amanda EcclestonUniversity of Michigan

4:24.00

29

15

Rebecca FridayOregon

4:27.07

DNF

DNF

Christina CazzolaWisconsin-Oshkosh

Heat 2:

2011 World #1 Morgan Uceny looked like the Uceny of old for 1400 of 1500 meters as she controlled this heat from the front. However, in the last 100, fans were reminded that Uceny only ran 4:17 in April when she was last in this stadium at the Drake Relays as she was passed by four people. Uceny would end up advancing to the finals on time though as the top seven finishers in this heat all moved on to the final.

QT #1: 2012 Olympic Trials fourth placer Gabriele Anderson got the heat win here late but we were more impressed by Shannon Rowbury. If we had to pick the team now, we’d go with Moser, Cain and Rowbury. But Anderson shouldn’t be discounted and we’re not ruling out Uceny either even though she didn’t look good tonight.

QT #2: Uceny felt the heat was “a bit of a shock coming from England” and that said, “I’ve gotta get my shit together over the next couple days.”

QT #3: Speaking of the heat, Rowbury was using an ice vest after the race. You can watch her interview below to find out more about that.